Response to latest SMMT figures

“Today’s SMMT figures show a further cooling of the UK’s new car market. This could decline further if interest rates rise in May and the current financial squeeze on UK households intensifies. While most car dealers and finance providers are already carrying out sufficient affordability assessments, to protect consumers against economic downturns, those that have not yet must also improve their lending practices. This is key to not just creating a more robust industry with sustainable growth, but also protecting consumers from overextending themselves financially.

“Open Banking can help facilitate this by empowering consumers to share their data and removing the need for finance providers to manually process bank statement data. The regulation could also help further automate and increase the accuracy of affordability practices of those organisations already using them. Through their ability to offer a better customer experience, those providers that embrace Open Banking will be more competitive and as a result better placed to withstand challenging market conditions.”